The Barrier Breaks
by szmoon
Summary: Daine decides to take a day off for once. Using her Wild Magic for her own fun, what would happen if the barrier between her magic and herself disappeared? please R&R!-
1. A Deserved Break

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own any of it!=J It'd be nice, though…

Note: It's a bit boring right now, but I promise to try the best that I can, if that means anything…I've got a really good plot planned out=D

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Having had a rough day, Veralidaine Sarrasri decided to take a break.  She had helped to train the new Riders the whole morning, and was tired out as usual. One particularly nasty trainee had seemed to decide that it was worth punishment to be able to make Daine's job miserable. He had taken to doin the opposite of whatever Daine had asked of him.

As she hadn't spent much time with her People friends lately, she thought that now was the best time.  Making her way back to her room, she decided she would rather visit the Tahoi and the dogs at the kennel first. She hadn't used much of her Wild magic for a while now, and since there seemed to be no other need for it, she thought she would use it for her own pleasure this time. 

When she reached her room, she pulled off her leather boots, and walked out onto the deck.

Daine then exchanged hands and feet for paws with pads, nose for snout, and plain skin for soft, golden fur.  Feeling much more comfortable, she ducked out from under the now useless fabric and jumped over the railing. And as always, the badger god's claw hung securely around her neck. 

Daine the dog now trotted contentedly towards the kennels.

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When she neared the building, she could already sniff her friends out. Every sent was unique to her nose.

_Seems like they're all there!_Daine thought gleefully.

Since the dogs could sense her approach too, they needed no hint as to who was coming.  All broke free of their handlers or cages, and raced to be the first to meet the newcomer.

All together and greetings over, they romped playfully in the grass yard, Daine thinking all the while that she'd been missing this all along. She felt at home here, where no one thought she was a out of place and such.

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As Numair Salmalín was hard at work, sweat poured from every pore. He was bent over a strange contraption that seemed to hold more of his gift than he did. He seemed on the point of breaking down, until he felt some of his used magic return to him. 

_I should be worried about where that came from, but not right now!_He thought.

And once again he immersed himself in his treasured work.

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While a stable hand was walking towards his charges, he noticed that a faint black mist-like substance was floating towards one location: the room where the strange mage stayed.  He started walking at a faster pace to better avoid whatever was occurring.

As Daine and her friends played around, she thought that she should walk

over and visit with the horses in the pasture. 

"I have to go now," she told her companions. Instead of her voice, it came

out as a series of barks.  Not concerned about wondering why she didn't speak

mind to mind as she was used to (she didn't normally use the animals' language),

she said her goodbyes to them. 

Sitting down to try and remember her formal shape, she found it too difficult at

the time.

_Just as well,_she thought._I don't have any of those cloth things that our owners_

_use__on themselves anyway._

So Daine the Dog just shape shifted her paws to hooves, raised, fluffy tail to a

drooping one, and her dog sense to a horse one. 

Not being able to wait any longer, the Horse named Daine galloped over to the

pasture where her herd brothers and sisters awaited her. 

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Alanna the Lioness was in her roomy quarters at Pirate Swoop when her husband George came in.

"You might want to take a look at this," he told her.

He held up a pair of earrings that she had received from Numair as a birthday present three months ago.  Peculiar as they normally seemed, they now seemed even more out of the ordinary. Instead of the normal glittering black magic that flowed around inside of it, it was now floating out of it.

Frowning, she glanced to her left at her dresser and did a double take: the intricate bracelet that Numair had given her three** years**ago was doing the same thing. 

Noticing that the magic was going in the same direction, she muttered, "His magic." Making her voice more audible, she said to George, "Could it all be going somewhere? Both seemed to be headed in the same direction."

Both of them walked over to the balcony that overlooked a wonderful view. In the distance they not only saw the two black fires of the jewelry, but many others floating in the same direction.

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Numair seemed to finally realize that he wasn't loosing as much strength as he had been a little while ago. He now chanced a look around his workroom. He gasped audibly.  All around him his Gift hovered, and he hadn't noticed a thing.

"I must have been too preoccupied," he said aloud.  "I wonder where it came from. I should have sensed it here."

He searched the strange but familiar magic with his own low supply. To him it felt like an old object, long lost but found at last.

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As the Horse called Daine grazed happily in the grass with the herd all around her, she thought that she ought to get back to her regular schedule.  At this time of day, she should've been being ridden by those young trainers.

While sharing these thoughts with the others, they said that they did this about once a week.

Then the new Horse realized that that was true, and then went back to grazing.  (this is supposed to be a thing kinda like she's getting memories from the horses without noticing it)

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I hope you liked it!(= Please review. i don't mind constructive criticism…do you think it was too short? i'll try to add more today! c(=


	2. Help On its Way

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine…=D

Thanks Wild Magelet for the advice! I'll try to lengthen my chapters.=J

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As Numair continued to toil over his unknown creation, a crowd began to gather around his door: of course they were around it, because there was a protective shield of his magic covering it. They watched in awe as the mages creation grew, and grew, and grew. When it was about the size of a loaf of bread, it resembled a series of pulleys, each with a bucket on end. The buckets contained some substance that changed from color to color and texture to texture.

His audience watched silently as the odd substance changed from short, coarse fur to patches of soft yellow dandelions, to more and more things, never repeating the thing same twice. Some thought it disgusting, for they thought nothing should have the power to mimic _everything_. Others thought differently; they wondered what it would be like if they could harness such power. Something that could do this must be able to other things. And, yet again, more thoughts went around, such as curiousness, or loveliness. Little did they know that these different opinions also had much power, too.

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As Alanna prepared to her horse and supplies for herself, George did the same for himself. This time he was going to go _with_ his wife, instead of letting her go off by herself all the time. He always missed her, and he didn't want to lose a moment of their time if he could help it. Anyways, it wasn't like he was going to be gone for that long. Only about a week or so.

The farewells took longer than usual, though. It was not often that George Cooper left his home and children. So, after he saw to all three twice (they had gotten in line twice), he and his wife mounted their horses and set off for the Castle. They wanted to see if anyone else knew of these strange mists.

Since it would take them about three or more days fast riding, they (at least George) would have only a couple of days stay. Then he would have to return home to the rest of his family.

On their way through a forest they found many other magic "blobs", as they came to call them, hovering in the same direction as themselves. Once they stopped to examine one of them. Alanna, not thinking, put her hand in front of one, but all it did was slide through it. George had thought he would have a heart attack, seeing his wife touch an unknown substance. Having been a thief, he was all too paranoid, though it did save him on occasions.

So on they rode, not stopping anymore for the blobs. They wanted to hurry towards their destination. Maybe this was just some experiment of the King and Queens, she thought, though she doubted it. The least they could do would be to confirm that the blobs were coming from as far as Pirates Swoop, maybe farther.

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Daine was happily grazing with the herd when, all of a sudden, one of the ponies bit her on the neck. The surprise made her jump into another form. The gray pony now towered over her, and she realized how huge she was. So she took flight into the nearest tree, careful not to scrape her new wound on any branches. Now that she was with her own kind once again, she chattered with them. Talking about their latest gatherings were the best way to spend time.

Probably because she was preoccupied, Daine hadn't notice a light shadow on her mind grow even lighter. If someone had cared to watch that small flock of sparrows in that lonesome tree, they would have notices a slight black mist coming from one of its occupants. Most likely, though, not many people would care to watch.

As Daine the Bird went on listening to the chirps of her flock, feeling at home as ever, she felt the group's wings shift. In a moments notice, all members took flight. Heading northeast, Diane chanced a look back. With a slight thud heard by no one else, she fell to the grassy edge of the castle.

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As she came to, Daine found yet another towering figure right above her. It seemed to be one of those two-leggers, maybe a younger one. She had raven-black hair, and was stooping down to examine her.

Princess Kalasin reached for the sparrow and scooped her up. She held out her outer skirts and placed the small bird there. She then carefully walked back towards her home, all the while gently caressing the sparrow in her skirts.

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Sorry! I hope that it's not too short or boring! Please tell me if it is. This is my first tamora fanfic =J


	3. Title undecided

Disclaimer: Does it belong to me? Can I bribe you? Please? Oh well… No, none of it belongs to me…=J

Please keep in mind that shorter chappies mean that I get to update more often! (Though I do try to make them longer)

I would also like to mention that I will be going on vacation next week, so if I don't update hen, it because of that!=D

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In the village Square, the townspeople talked with one another. For the past couple of days, they had viewed the black blobs float over their village every once in a while. Of course they would be wary. Additionally, word had gotten out from the castle's workers that it seemed to be connected to the mage Numair Salmalín. And they knew what that meant: sheer mayhem. His experiments didn't usually help people get on with their lives.

"They said that it looked wonderful, the thing he was workin' on." A blacksmith who'd heard it from his brother that supplied the castle with horseshoes told the baker. "He told me that it changed shape over and over, like Daine or somethin'."

"That'd be a bit creepy, don't you think?" replied the baker. "It would probably make me sick to my stomach."

"I don't know. It could be powerful. It could help us destroy Scanra and such," said the blacksmith.

"Well, I'd say that that's a bit extreme." The baker seemed to have felt undignified.

"What would _you_ know?" The blacksmith turned on his heal and stalked away, the baker watching with a confused expression. He didn't expect him to take it personally.

Nobody noticed that many such problems were occurring around the area. Since nobody cared to mention a small argument to their friends, (who did the exact same thing) nobody knew that

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As Princess Kalasin reached for the handle of the door that lead to Daine's stable room, it was suddenly pushed open. As Kalasin jumped out of the way just in time, she saw Onua come out.

"Oh, sorry Kaly! Are you okay? I didn't see anyone!" Onua bent down to see if the young princess was okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to bring this sparrow to Daine," Kaly said.

"Umm, I'm not sure where she is. I was just looking for her, actually. She hasn't been around for a while. I thought I'd check on her."

"Are you sure? Never mind.." And with that Kaly said goodbye to Onua and headed towards her room.

On her way there, she ran into her mother.

"Now, what are you doing with that poor bird?" she asked. The queen looked down at her down at he daughter, hands on hips.

"I found it lying on the ground outside. It's still breathing, see?" And with that Kaly held up the sparrow for her mother to inspect.

"If it's still alive, then why did you take it?," the queen inquired.

"I wanted to take it to Daine so she could fix him, but I couldn't find her. Do you know where she is? I haven't found her yet. Can I keep it till it gets better?" Kaly looked up at her mom with pleading eyes. It seemed that this was important to her.

The queen sighed. "As long as you make sure you feed it, and that it doesn't make a mess of anything, yes. But if it gets better, you have to let it go, okay?"

"Yay!" Kaly stopped herself from spring from the ground when she remembered about her new charge.

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Numair Salmalín rested his weight on the counter, observing how his new creation worked. He didn't know what had driven him to make it, only that he had. He didn't even really remember how he had made it, and barely remembered any of the time he had spent making it. All he knew was that it held more of his gift that he would generate in well over just a few years.

He watched as the device shifted from having multiple extruding spidery legs to being rose petal covered. Most of the time its shape was that of a bucket, until an extremely bulky material took its place on its surface. He knew that he had seen something of the likes before, but he couldn't place it. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch.

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As George and Alanna neared the castle, they felt a tension in the air. They weren't sure what caused it, but knew something was off all the same.

"The sooner the better, I guess," said George, who used his Sight to examine the area around them. Alanna was prodding the area with her Gift, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.

"No luck," Alanna informed her husband. "Nothing here seems wrong to me. How about you?"

"Me neither," he replied. "Oh well. Let's just hurry up; I want to find out about what's going on."

So they set off. When they reached the castle, they let their mount be taken away by the hostlers, and walked up to the castle steps. They were soon greeted by anyone near enough to them, and were questioned for the reason why they were there. Once the palace servants learned that the Lioness and the Baron of Pirates Swoop wished to speak to the king and queen, they were whisked away at once and led to the royal library.

When the couple reached the place where the King John and Queen Thayet sat reading, they looked up at the newcomers.

"Why are you guys here, Alanna?," John asked. "You're supposed to be taking a break."

"We wanted to see if you guys knew about those black blobs that are floating around," Alanna replied.

"Oh, that…"

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Is it good so far? If it's boring, please tell me! It doesn't seem like many people like it… Oh well=D


	4. Oh no

Disclaimer: I wish it belongs to me, if that counts anything to you!=D But no, none of it belongs to me.

I promise you that _something _will actually happen in this chapter! I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. If it's boring or short, _please tell me! _This is my first Tamora fanfic, and I'm not the best at it! Oh well…=J

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"Yes, we do know about that," the Thayet informed the King's Champion. Putting her book aside, she turned in her seat to face the couple.

"Then what are those things?!" demanded Alanna. "All we know is that the blobs are loaded with Numair's Gift."

"_Calm down,_" George whispered in her ear. He didn't want his wife's temper to get the better of her again. That always resulted in _interesting_ things.

Though nobody had actually heard what George had privately said, Jon had a pretty good idea. Changing the subject, he asked, "How _did_ you know about those 'blobs'? As far as we knew, only the people in the castle knew about them."

Alanna snorted. Trying to cover up, she said, "Yeah right! It seemed like everybody in the towns and villages we passed on the way here was talking about them. _We _know about them because the trinkets that Numair gave me three months and years ago were both leaking his gift. So what's it about!?"

"Okay, okay!" ushered Thayet. She now stood next to her husband, a hand on his shoulder. "All we know is that Numair's been working on a new project. Now we know that instead of losing his Gift, he was gaining it. Well, of course we concluded that those 'blobs' went to him."

Jon went on after his wife finished. "Now we know that it's at least as far as Pirates Swoop, thanks to you." He paused, then said, "We still don't know what Numair's project is, though."

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As Kaly watched the tiny sparrow that she had placed in her doll's crib, she thought. _Maybe I should get some food for it. _Since the sparrow looked as if it would sleep for ages, she got up, shook out her skirts, and walked out the door. When she reached the stairs that headed for the kitchen, she sopped for a second. She was about to go find Daine to ask what sparrows ate, when she remembered that she couldn't find her. _Oh well_, she thought. _Maybe the cooks know._

When she entered the kitchen, one of the mages who was working on the spices glanced at the door. Doing a double-take, he rushed over. "What are you doing here, Kalasin? You're not supposed to be wandering alone."

"I wanted to get some food for a sparrow. Do you know what they eat?," she asked, all innocence.

The mage sighed and said, "Yes, the like seeds, I'll get you some if you promise to go back to where you're supposed to be." He then got up and opened a cabinet. He took some seed out of a jar and put it in a napkin. As he handed it to Kaly, he said, "Here you go. Now please go back to where you're missed."

Kaly then headed to her room, carefully holding the napkin as not to lose any food.

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When the sparrow opened its tiny eyes, it flinched from fright as well as pain. Its side felt as if it had been stepped on by a giant. As it propped itself upright on its legs, it looked around. Not only was she in unfamiliar surroundings, but she didn't remember how she got there, either. She tried to fly out of the padded enclosure, but she found that she couldn't move her wings. Instead she settled for hopping out. Now she hopped around the room, exploring its contents. Feeling that this place was stuffy, she longed to fly out of the whole in the wall that let in the sun.

Watching that whole, she saw a green scaled bird with leathery wings soar through the sky. She wished that she were able to do the same, and wondered how it would feel like to be just like that creature. She wanted to know what it'd be like to speak in those whistles and clicks. She knew that it'd be nice to be able to do those magical whistles. It'd also be wondrous to have your skin change color constantly.

As the sparrow thought all of this, she didn't even have the slightest notion that her wings changed bit by bit, until they were smooth and leathery. She didn't notice that she was slowly becoming larger by the second. Nor did she notice that her beak was disappearing, only to be replaced by an awkward feeling muzzle.

Daine the Dragon then approached the window.


	5. Revelations

Sorry! I've been on vacation, but now I'm back! I'll try to update more often=D

Disclaimer: As I have learned that nobody will take my bribes, I'll say it outright: I do not own any of it…=J

ooooooooo

Jumping, Daine realized that something was different, though she couldn't quite put her paw on it. Shrugging, she leaped into the air and spread her wings. As she launched herself into the limitless sky, she felt a rush of joy. She spun in the air as she raced to catch up with the dragon she saw earlier.

ooo

When Kalasin got back to her room, she gasped. "Where's my sparrow?" she wailed.

She left the seed on the ground and ran to the open window. When she found no sign of it, she sat down hard. "Ow!" She got up and looked where she had just been; there's was a claw, and with a string attached to it. Of course it wasn't from the sparrow, she knew that. But then where'd it come from?

While pondering that, Kaly didn't notice that a badger who had been walking past stopped and almost choked himself on his meal. He would recognize that necklace anywhere. _He_ had been the one that had given it to Daine. But why was it here. He hurriedly left towards his home.

ooo

"Then why don't you just _ask_ Numair what he did?" Alanna was finding this very aggravating.

"Of course we tried to," replied Jonathan. "But he's just locked himself in his rooms. And you should know that he can do that better than anyone else."

Alanna grimaced. She _did_ know. She sighed. "Well, can't you do anything? There must be some reason he's still in there."

"Not unless we want to destroy that whole wing of the castle, along with Numair, no we can't do anything," replied the Queen.

"Well, we're bound to find out eventually," said George, who was leaning against the doorway.

"I just hope that it's _before_ Numair screws thing up again," Alanna said.

ooo

Numair was in his workroom, laboring to keep the Chaos under control. The effort wasn't easy; it fought him until his Gift vanished completely. But then his Gift would regenerate faster than it had before.

He refused to let anyone know that he had made a mistake. It had seemed like such a simple plan at the time-to control the chaos for the kingdom's own use. Now, though, it looked to be impossible. How could he have possibly overlooked this possibility? He guessed that he had been too preoccupied at the time.

Noticing that a tendril was escaping its container, he shoved it back in with as much force of his Gift that he could muster. He felt as if he would collapse at any moment, until he felt an alien Gift flow into him. He was too busy to notice.

ooo

Alanna and George were in their rooms at the castle, each thinking quietly. By now they were used to it when a blob floated past them. It sure happened often enough. But when he saw that a hint of purple was seeping out of his wife, George yelped.

"What is it?!" She had never heard him do that before.

"It's coming out of you!"

"_What's_ coming out of me," Alanna asked. She hated it when people weren't specific.

"You're Gift! It's coming out! Are you doing anything?" George seemed to be concerned for her.

"Now, why would it be-" She stopped short as she turned around, and saw too that her Gift was going away from her. She tried to grab it, but she just went right through it. The same went with trying to recall it.

"I don't know! It won't come back either!" she exclaimed. This was just too much.

"Whatever it is, we're going to find out. I can't wait to get Numair.." George seemed to be thinking some gruesome things.

Alanna was staring helplessly at her flowing Gift. She didn't like not being able to do anything.

oo

Daine had been following the dragon for some time, until she saw her start descending into the forest below. Following suite, Daine went into the shade of the leafy ceiling. She landed next to the dragon, and when the dragon saw Daine, she had immediately sensed who it was. Dragon or no, this was her adoptive mother.

Skysong shrieked her anger, which could have probably been heard all over the royal forest.

Daine was about to reply when a great weight fell onto her back, pushing her down to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT!" was the first thing that the Badger God had to say to Daine.

ooooooooo

I hope you liked it! As always, please review! I'm always open for comments, and I'll try to update soon!


	6. Chaos?

Okay. For all of you who have been wondering, Numair doesn't know that he's sucking the Gift out of people. I know it's confusing!

DestinyHunter- Daine once asked Numair what would happen if she turned into an immortal, and he told her that she wouldn't be able to change back (in Emperor Mage). And Daine didn't fall out of the tree, she flew out and then rammed the castle.D

Thanks for your reviews! If ever anyone needs any help clearing things up, just ask me! I would also like to mention that I've been getting _a lot_

Disclaimer: None of it's mine…J

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"You know you're not supposed to be an immortal!," the Badger God cried. "I specifically made sure that Numair told you that! You know you can't change back!"

Finally able to get up, Daine started chattering angrily at him, while Skysong tried to restrain her friend from getting too close to the angry badger.

The Badger God sat down with a sigh. "There's nothing I can do to get you out of this. The only ones who could would be the Great Gods, but they're far too hard to reach."

When Kitten let her go, Daine cocked her head to one side, a gesture of incomprehension.

"Don't look at me!" the god exclaimed. "You got yourself into this. _I_ don't know of a way to help!"

Hoping that he'd understand her, Daine told him that she had no idea of what he was going on about.

"You really don't know, do you?" he asked, truthfully surprised. "And you left this behind, too." He shoved the claw necklace under her snout.

Still in Dragon, Daine asked 'What's this?'

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Numair had just secured a number of overly-sized Chaos chunks when a knock on his door (followed by an enraged howl) led his attention astray. Since he felt that nothing would happen if he left the Chaos alone for a short time, he chanced a visit. He slowly backed up until he could reach the doorknob, then turned it, all the while keeping his creation.

When the door opened enough to allow someone through, Numair heard, "_Why in Mithro's name _did you put protection spells on it?!" Alanna came in, closely followed by George.

"What do you mean?" Numair mumbled, still preoccupied.

"It stung!, is what I mean. And look at this!" She indicated the steady stream of her Gift that was visibly flowing from her to him.

"What's what?" Numair replied, still not paying attention.

"Look, you imbecile!" George was at the end of his patience.

That seemed to break Numair's trance.

He spun around, and took a look at Alanna and George, who were both glaring heavily at him. Then he looked at what they both meant.

Seeing Alanna's violet Gift drifting towards him, he took a step to the side. It followed.

"I have no idea," he said. "I'd ask you first if-"

Through all of the confusion, nobody noticed that the Chaos had molded itself, until Uusoae spoke up.

"Numair, you have been very kind to me," she said in an ear piercing voice that would make the hair on anybody's neck stand.

The three mortals whirled around to face her, fear plain on their faces.

Uusoae continued. "For years I have waited, and now I have all the power I'll need. All of this Gift you gave will now go to a much better use than you mortals use it for.

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I know it's short, but I barely have any time what with homework and all! I'll try my hardest to write more soon, but I can't promise anything!J

Anyway, I am always open for comments and such, and I'll try to clear things up if you ask!D


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